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Khp  Hihrnrv 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


1 0000321 607 

THE  UBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


ENDO^X^D  BY  THE 

DIALECTIC  AND  PHILANTHROPIC 

SOCIETIES 


4 


PS   3503 
.R   94 
S  4 
1912 


This  book  is  due  at  the  WALTER  R.  DAVIS  LIBRARY  on 
the  last  date  stamped  under  "Date  Due."  If  not  on  hold  it 
may  be  renewed  by  bringing  it  to  the  library. 


DATE 
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DATE 
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nr^** 


332. 


Mi 


y^i,  -f-r 


The 
Signs  of  the  Tii 


TO     WHICH     IS     ADDED 

Faith 

An  Address  Delivered  Before  Several  Collt 

H 

WILLIAM  JENNJ 


FUNK  &  WAGNALLS   COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 
1912 


Copyright,  1912.  By 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 

Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 

Published  October.  1912 


CONTENTS 


The  Signs  of  the  Times 
Faith 


PAt-E 


THE 
SIGNS   OF   THE  TIMES  ^ 


:'J 


I- 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES 

T  HAD  a  double  object  in  select- 
-■•  ing  this  theme  and  in  prepar- 
ing this  address.  My  first  desire 
was  to  encourage  reformers  and  my 
second  was  to  stimulate  to  activity 
those  who  have  not  heretofore  been 
interested  in  reforms.  But  the^ 
word  "reform"  is  not  used  in  any 
narrow  or  restricted  sense;  it  is  not 
confined  to  political  reforms.  Re- 
form is  change  for  the  better,  and 
a  reformer  is  one  who  is  trying  to 
improve  conditions.  When  the 
word  "reformer"  is  thus  defined  I 
can  assume  that  all  who  honor  me 
by    their    presence    are    reformers, 

I 


THE    SIGNS 

that  is,  are  interested  in  some,  if 
not  in  many,  reforms,  and  manifest 
a  degree  of  zeal  in  securing  them. 
There  are,  in  fact,  but  three  classes 
of  people  who  are  not  reformers 
and  it  would  be  a  reflection  upon 
yon  to  assume  that  you  are  in  any 
one  of  the  three  classes. 

The  first  class  contains  those  who 
lack  intelligence — who  do  not  know 
that  there  are  wrongs  to  be  righted 
and  abuses  to  be  removed.  In  the 
second  class  will  be  found  those 
who  know  that  reform  is  possible 
but  who  are  so  hard  hearted  and  in- 
different to  the  welfare  of  their  fel- 
lows that  they  do  not  desire  the  re- 
forms secured.  The  third  and  last 
class  is  made  up  of  those  who  have 
a    pecuniary     interest    in    existing 

2 


OF    THE    TIMES 

abuses — who  have  their  hands  in 
other  people's  pockets  and  do  not 
want  to  be  disturbed.  I  shall  count 
you  all,  therefore,  as  reformers  and 
shall  address  you  as  such. 

The  reformer  has  many  difficul- 
ties to  encounter,  but  I  shall  only 
mention  two  at  this  time.  The  firs*-  — 
is  the  difference  in  the  degree  of  ii^ 
terest  which  people  feel  in  reforms) 
Reformers  vary  all  the  way  from 
just  above  freezing  up  to  boiling 
point.  When  a  reformer  is  just 
above  freezing  he  must  be  handled 
very  tenderly,  for,  with  a  little  drop 
in  the  temperature,  he  is  out  of  the 
class ;  but  when  he  is  at  boiling  point 
he  is  at  work.  One  of  the  chief  pur- 
poses of  speaking  on  reforms  is  to 
raise  the  temperature  and  to  put  the 

3 


THE    SIGNS 

reformer  to  work  among  his  fel- 
lows. It  is  easier  to  increase  the 
zeal  of  one  who  believes  in  a  re- 
form than  it  is  to  convert  one  to  a 
reform  who  is  really  against  it — • 
just  as  in  political  campaigns  it  is 
easier  to  get  out  the  vote  than  it  is 
to  convert  men  to  the  party. 

The  second  difficulty  is  even 
greater,  viz:  the  difficulty  in  secur- 
ing cooperation  between  reform- 
ers. If  I  were  to  select  from  the 
audience  ten  persons,  recommended 
to  me  as  the  most  advanced  reform- 
ers of  your  community,  and  found 
upon  inquiry  that  the  ten  agreed 
upon  the  desirability  of  ten  reforms, 
not  half  of  them  would  agree  as  to 
which  reform  is  most  important  and 
probably  no  two  would  agree  as  to 

4 


OF   THE    TIMES 

the  relative  importance  of  the  ten 
reforms.  Because  a  reformer  is 
honest  he  is  apt  to  be  obstinate,  and 
because  he  is  conscious  that  he  is 
disinterested  he  is  not  prone  to 
compromise.  No  one  who  has  ever 
tried  to  bring  reformers  together  or 
to  keep  them  together  will  fail  to 
appreciate  an  illustration  used  by  a 
Kansas  Congressman  twenty  years 
ago.  He  said  that  down  upon  the 
plains  of  Brazil  there  were  little  bur- 
ros that  ran  wild  and  that  when  at- 
tacked by  ferocious  animals  they 
would  by  instinct  put  their  heads  to- 
gether and  their  heels  outward  in  a 
circle  and  all  kick  the  enemy.  Re- 
formers, he  added,  did  not  always 
act  with  that  intelligence  but,  in- 
stead,   would    too   often    put   their 

5 


THE    SIGNS 

heads  to  the  enemy  and  kick  each 
other.  This  difficulty  in  getting  re- 
formers to  act  together  seriously  de- 
lays reforms. 

Some  reformers,  and  honest  men 
too,  become  so  interested  in  one  re- 
form that  they  will  not  participate 
in  the  securing  of  others  which  they 
regard  of  less  importance;  and 
some,  honest  people,  too,  when  they 
find  what  they  regard  as  a  panacea, 
not  only  refuse  to  aid  in  the  bring- 
ing of  other  reforms  but,  when  their 
reform  is  rejected,  desire  conditions 
to  become  worse  and  worse  and 
worse — and  even  help  to  make  them 
worse — in  the  hope  that  the  people 
will  at  last  in  desperation  accept 
what  they  now  reject.  I  am  not 
willing  to  endorse  this  philosophy. 

6 


OF   THE   TIMES 

I  am  not  willing  to  help  to  make  any 
condition  worse  no  matter  how  sure 
I  may  be  that  out  of  that  worse  con- 
dition good  may  finally  come.  Hu-\ 
man  judgment  is  not  sufficiently  un- 
erring to  enable  us  to  measure  with 
certainty  the  result  of  the  acts  of 
others  or  even  the  result  of  our  own 
actions.  I  am  restrained  by  the  fear 
that  if  I  help  to  make  a  condition 
worse  I  may  not  afterwards  be  able 
to  make  it  better.  I  have  put  my 
theory  into  the  form  of  an  illustra- 
tion; if  I  ever  get  it  into  my  head 
that  I  can  raise  a  man  from  the 
dead,  I  shall  not  kill  a  man  in  order 
to  experiment  with  him — I  shall  try 
it  upon  a  dead  man. 

I  believe  that  this  illustration  fits 
the  case.     We  are  constantly  called 

7 


THE    SIGNS 

upon  to  decide  whether  we  will  as- 
sist in  securing  some  minor  reform 
or  refuse  to  assist  in  the  hope  that 
an  accumulating  demand  will  bring 
some  greater  reform.  I  believe  that 
it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  for  those 
who  can  agree  upon  the  desirability 
of  any  reform,  however  unimportant 
it  may  seem,  to  join  together  where 
possible  and  secure  it  and  then  be- 
gin immediately  on  the  next  reform 
in  sight  I  believe  that  God  has  so 
made  this  world  that  no  good  thing 
secured  today  will  prevent  the  se- 
curing of  some  other  good  thing  to- 
morrow. In  fact,  we  often  find  that 
a  reform  which,  at  the  time,  seemed 
unimportant  proves  to  be  a  neces- 
sary stepping  stone  to  some  larger 
reform. 

8 


OF   THE   TIMES 

But  I  am  not  here  to  advocate 
any  particular  reform.  As  I  stated 
in  the  beginning,  my  purpose  is  to 
encourage  reforms  and  to  arouse  the 
indifferent  to  activity.  And  reform- 
ers need  encouragement.  When  one 
sees  an  evil  clearly  he  wonders  why 
all  do  not  see  it;  when  he  finds  a 
remedy  that  seems  sufficient  he  won- 
ders why  all  do  not  accept  it.  As 
great  reforms  come  slowly  it  is  not 
strange  that  those  who  labor  ear- 
nestly should  sometimes  become  dis- 
couraged when  they  see  their  hopes 
deferred.  The  great  reformers  of 
history  have  had  their  hours  of 
darkness  and  of  doubt.  Elijah,  that 
brave  prophet  of  the  early  day,  who 
had  the  courage  to  stand  before 
kings  and  to  rebuke  wickedness  in 

9 


THE    SIGNS 

high  places — even  Elijah  was  faint 
of  heart  when  he  was  fleeing  before 
the  wrath  of  a  wicked  woman  and 
thought  that  all  the  other  prophets 
of  the  Lord  had  been  put  to  death. 
It  was  not  until  Jehovah  assured 
him  that  seven  thousand  had  not 
bowed  the  knee  to  Baal  that  his  faith 
revived.  Peter  the  Hermit,  whose 
zeal  and  eloquence  stirred  a  conti- 
nent to  a  crusade,  was  at  times  on 
the  verge  of  despair.  I  come  to  you 
with  a  message  of  encouragement; 
God  is  still  on  His  Throne  and  the 
world  moves  forward!  No  matter 
along  what  line  you  have  labored; 
no  matter  whether  the  movement 
which  enlisted  your  heart's  interest 
is  local,  state,  national  or  world-wide 
there  is  an  arm  back  of  every  right- 

10 


OF   THE    TIMES 

eous  cause — an  arm  strong  enough 
to  give  victory  to  Truth. 

I  shall  only  bring  before  you  three 
lines  of  progress,  progress  in  intelli- 
gence, in  morals  and  in  the  science 
of  government;  but  these  lines  are 
so  important  that  there  is  no  excuse 
for  pessimism  if  progress  along 
these  lines  can  be  shown.  And  it  is 
not  difficult  to  support  the  proposi- 
tions advanced;  my  embarrassment 
is  not  to  find  evidence  of  progress 
— it  is  rather  to  find  time  in  which 
to  present  all  that  might  be  brought 
forward. 

Let  us  begin  with  the  world's  ad- 
vance in  intelligence.  Every  year 
finds  a  larger  percentage  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  world  able  to  read  and 
write — able  to   study  history,   and, 

II 


THE    SIGNS 

knowing  the  past,  judge  the  future; 
every  year  finds  more  schools,  more 
students  in  attendance  and  a  higher 
standard  of  education.  And  this  is 
not  true  today  only,  but  every  day; 
not  in  one  place  onlyj  but  every- 
where. 

Illustrations  might  be  drawn  from 
every  land  but  a  few  must  suffice. 
Fifty  years  ago  comparatively  few 
of  the  people  of  Japan  could  read 
and  write;  now  they  boast  that 
ninety  per  cent  of  the  rising  gen- 
eration can  read  and  write,  and  the 
study  of  the  English  language  is  so 
universal  in  the  higher  schools  that 
you  can  address  the  students  in  our 
language  without  the  aid  of  an  in- 
terpreter. 

A  few  years  ago  China  had  only 

12 


OF   THE   TIMES 

private  schools  and  not  many  at- 
tended them ;  now  public  schools  are 
springing  up  all  over  the  land. 
Yuan-Shi-Kai,  with  whose  name 
you  have  become  familiar,  boasted 
six  years  ago  that  he  had  estab- 
lished four  thousand  public  schools 
in  his  district  during  the  preceding 
five  years. 

In  the  Philippine  Islands  the  de- 
sire for  education  is  so  universal 
that  many  parents  attend  schools 
with  their  children — in  one  district 
the  attendance  rose  from  this  cause 
to  fifty  per  cent  above  what  the 
school  census  would  indicate. 

Education  is  very  backward  in  In- 
dia, less  than  one  per  cent  of  the 
women  are  able  to  read  and  write 
and  less  than  eight  per  cent  of  the 

13 


THE   SIGNS 

total  population,  but  the  desire  for 
education  is  so  widespread  that 
every  meeting  of  the  native  congress 
demands  larger  educational  oppor- 
tunities. When  a  few  years  ago  the 
people  of  India  reached  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  Viceroy  was  not  suffi- 
ciently encouraging  higher  educa- 
tion they  raised  money  by  private 
subscription  and  sent  young  men  to 
study  in  the  colleges  of  other  lands. 
While  in  Calcutta  we  attended  a 
farewell  reception  given  to  forty- 
four  of  these  students. 

In  Africa  seventeen  thousand  stu- 
dents, ten  thousand  boys  and  seven 
thousand  girls,  are  attending  schools 
and  colleges  established  by  mission- 
aries, not  to  speak  of  an  increasing 
number  attending  the  government 
schools. 

14 


OF   THE    TIMES 

In  Turkey  what  is  known  as  the 
Young  Turk  movement  is  largely 
the  outgrowth  of  educational  work 
done  in  the  Sultan's  Empire. 

In  Russia  twice  as  large  a  percen- 
tage of  the  present  generation  as  of 
the  last  can  read  and  write  and  the 
Czar  insists  that,  judging  by  the 
statistics  furnished  by  enlistments 
in  the  army,  the  percentage  of  il- 
literacy is  decreasing  at  the  rate  of 
one  per  cent  a  year.  So  much  for 
the  Old  World. 

The  same  rule  prevails  in  the 
Western  Hemisphere.  In  Canada 
on  the  north,  in  every  state  in  our 
Union  and  in  the  Spanish  speaking 
republics  on  the  south  there  is  every- 
where progress  in  education.  In 
Mexico  the  increase  in  some  of  the 

15 


THE    SIGNS 

states  amounts  to  one  hundred  per 
cent  in  schools  and  attendance  in  ten 
years. 

In  Peru  we  found  a  group  of 
American  teachers  who  are  in  the 
country  by  invitation  of  the  Govern- 
ment and  draw  salaries  from  the 
public  treasury;  their  work  is  to 
help  bring  the  school  system  of  Peru 
more  in  harmony  with  ours. 

Uruguay  has  a  school  system 
identical  with  ours,  the  result  of  a 
visit  paid  by  one  of  that  country  to 
this  country  many  years  ago. 

At  La  Paz,  the  capital  of  Bolivia, 
there  is  an  American  College,  estab- 
lished a  few  years  ago  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  Government,  which  is 
supported  largely  by  government 
appropriations;  among  the  students 

i6 


OF   THE   TIMES  ' 

are  children  of  the  higher  officials. 
And  so  I  might  continue,  but  enough 
evidence  has  been  produced  to  show 
the  universaHty  of  the  rule. 

At  Lima,  Peru,  there  is  an  insti- 
tution of  learning,  established  more 
than  fifty  years  before  the  Pilgrims 
landed  at  Plymouth  Rock,  which  in 
its  history  illustrates  the  trend  to- 
ward democracy  in  education.  Dur- 
ing its  earlier  years  it  was  an  aris- 
tocratic institution ;  it  cost  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  to  secure  a  diploma.  In 
addition  to  proficiency  in  his  studies 
a  graduate  was  compelled  to  finance 
a  bull  fight  and  give  a  public  dinner. 
This  requirement  continued  until 
1740  when  a  law  substituted  a  de- 
posit of  two  thousand  dollars  for  the 
expense  of  the  bull   fight  and   the 

17 


THE    SIGNS 

dinner.  This  measure  remained 
upon  the  statute  books  until  1870 
when  the  deposit  was  reduced  to 
eight  hundred  dollars.  During  the 
last  forty-two  years  reduction  after 
reduction  has  been  made  until  now 
it  costs  but  one  hundred  dollars  to 
secure  one  degree  and  fifty  dollars 
another.  This  illustrates  what  is  go- 
ing on  not  only  in  Peru  and  South 
America  but  throughout  the  world. 
Only  a  few  generations  ago  the  best 
people  thought  that  God  never  in- 
tended the  masses  to  be  educated, 
but  now  we  say  that  when  God  gave 
brains  to  all  he  gave  the  best  pos- 
sible proof  of  his  desire  that  all 
should  enjoy  the  benefits  of  mental 
discipline.  None  of  us  think  our- 
selves wise  enough  to  draw  a  line 

18 


OF   THE    TIMES 

through  Society  and  to  say  that  the 
children  on  one  side  should  be  edu- 
cated and  the  children  on  the  other 
side  condemned  to  the  night  of  igno- 
rance. The  American  ideal  is  that 
there  shall  be  an  open  school  door 
in  front  of  every  child  and  that 
every  child  shall  be  urged  to  make 
the  largest  possible  use  of  these  edu- 
cational opportunities.  This  is  not 
only  the  American  ideal  but  it  is 
the  ideal  toward  which  the  whole 
world  is  moving,  our  nation  leading 
the  way.  We  have  such  faith  in  the 
value  of  education,  as  shown  by  the 
fact  that  we  desire  it  for  ourselves 
and  provide  it  for  those  about  us, 
that  if  there  were  no  other  sign  of 
progress  this  advance  in  education 
throughout  the  world  would  in  itself 

19 


THE    SIGNS 

make  the  future  bright  with  hope. 

But  it  would  be  of  doubtful  ad- 
vantage to  educate  men  and  make 
their  minds  stronger — stronger  for 
harm  as  well  as  for  good — if  we 
were  not  putting  back  of  those 
stronger  minds  a  heart  development 
that  would  assure  Society  that  this 
larger  mental  power  would  be  em- 
ployed for  the  advancement  of  the 
common  weal. 

I  come,  therefore,  to  the  second 
branch  of  my  subject  and  assert  that 
the  world's  progress  in  morals  is 
equal  to  its  progress  in  intelligence. 
In  fact,  if  I  were  called  upon  to  de- 
cide the  question  I  would  be  com- 
pelled to  say  that,  just  at  this  time, 
the  evidence  of  a  world  wide  moral 
awakening  is  even  more  abundant 

20 


OF   THE    TIMES 

than  the  evidence  of  a  universal  ad- 
vance in  education.  Some  fourteen 
years  ago  the  great  Frenchman,  Du- 
mas fils,  wrote  a  remarkaWe  letter  in 
which  he  said  that  he  thought  he 
saw  the  signs  of  the  coming  of  an 
era  of  brotherhood.  Man,  he  de- 
clared, was  about  to  love  his  fellow- 
man  with  a  passion  that  he  had 
never  known  before.  Two  years 
after  this  letter  was  written,  Tol- 
stoi read  it  and  declared  that  he, 
too,  saw  the  signs  of  the  coming  of 
this  era  of  brotherhood.  Even 
earlier  than  either  of  these,  Eng- 
land's great  Commoner  perceived  it. 
Gladstone,  in  one  of  his  most 
memorable  speeches,  said  that  a  pro- 
found and  mysterious  movement 
was   visible   throughout   the   world 

21 


THE    SIGNS 

drawing  mankind  nearer  together. 
What  these  wise  men  foresaw  and 
foretold  is  not  merely  coming,  it  is 
here.  The  era  of  brotherhood  is 
upon  us.  There  is  a  better  under- 
standing of  brotherhood  today  than 
there  ever  has  been  before;  more  of 
a  sense  of  kinship  among  men. 
There  is  more  altruism  on  earth 
than  the  earth  has  previously  known 
and  more  in  the  United  States  than 
in  any  other  country  in  the  world. 

Let  me  bring  to  your  attention 
just  a  few  of  the  many  organized 
efforts  that  are  being  made  to  lift 
the  standard  of  morals.  In  this 
country  something  like  a  million 
men  have,  during  the  last  ten  years, 
been  brought  into  Men's  Clubs  and 
Bible  classes.     After  the  individual 

22 


OF    THE    TIMES 

clubs  had  been  organized  in  the 
various  churches,  national  brother- 
hoods were  formed.  The  Brother- 
hood of  the  church  with  which  I 
am  connected  was  organized  less 
than  five  years  ago;  now  nearly 
every  great  denomination  has  a  na- 
tional brotherhood  and  these  organ- 
izations have,  in  turn,  been  feder- 
ated under  inter-denominational 
committees.  We  have  great  organ- 
izations, like  the  Christian  Endeavor 
Society,  for  instance,  with  four  mil- 
lion members — more  than  one-third 
of  them  added  within  the  last  four 
years ;  we  have  the  Epworth  League, 
the  Baraca  Society  and  numerous 
others.  And  then  we  have  the 
Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tion and  the  Young  Men's  Christian 

23 


THE    SIGNS 

Association,  the  latter  with  a  million 
members,  half  of  them  in  the  United 
States.  You  may  be  interested  to 
know  that  the  amount  expended 
through  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  this 
country  each  year  is  more  than 
twice  as  large  as  the  total  amount 
expended  by  the  committees  of  the 
two  leading  parties  in  the  last  presi- 
dential campaign  of  1908,  and,  as  a 
presidential  campaign  comes  once  in 
four  years,  this  means  that  the  an- 
nual expenditures  of  the  Y.  M.  C. 
A.  during  a  period  of  four  years 
are  eight  times  as  great  as  the 
amount  expended  in  National  poli- 
tics. In  the  Catholic  Church  there 
is  a  great  organization,  the  Knights 
of  Columbus,  which  is  less  than 
half  as  old  as  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and 

24 


OF   THE   TIMES 

has  more  than  half  as  many  mem- 
bers in  the  United  States.  Outside 
of  the  churches  there  are  organiza- 
tions ethical  in  character  like  Hull 
House  in  Chicago,  established  by 
Jane  Addams  twenty-two  years  ago ; 
there  are  now  nearly  six  hundred 
institutions  of  this  character  in  the 
United  States.  Besides  these,  there 
are  the  fraternities,  increasing  in 
number  and  in  membership,  and 
every  one  is  preaching  the  doctrine 
of  brotherhood. 

But  let  us  go  outside  of  our  own 
country.  In  every  nation  with  any 
degree  of  civilization  an  awakened 
conscience  is  addressing  itself  to 
some  ethical  question.  In  China  the 
opium  traffic  has  been  the  absorbing 
issue,  but  now  at  an  enormous  sac- 

25 


THE    SIGNS 

tifice  in  national  revenue  the  fight 
is  about  won  and  war  has  been  de- 
clared against  gambling,  China's 
second  vice. 

In  most  of  the  countries  of  Eu- 
rope the  liquor  question  is  the  para- 
mount moral  issue.  In  Ireland  two 
years  ago  I  met  the  founder  of  the 
Catch  My  Pal  Society.  It  began 
with  a  meeting  between  a  minister 
and  five  drunken  men  on  the  street 
during  which  one  of  the  men  asked 
the  minister  to  get  the  other  four  to 
sign  the  pledge.  He  invited  them  to 
come  to  his  house  when  they  were 
sober  and  sign  the  pledge;  they  ac- 
cepted the  invitation  and  after  sign- 
ing went  out  and  brought  back  five 
more,  each  one  his  pal.  When  the 
second    five    had    signed    the    ten 

26 


OF   THE   TIMES 

brought  in  ten  more  and  the  twenty 
organized  the  society.  It  has  since 
reached  a  membership  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  thousand  and  has 
changed  the  habits  of  entire  com- 
munities. A  Belfast  lady  told  me  a 
story  to  illustrate  the  outgrowth  of 
the  work  of  this  organization. 
Many  drunkards  were  reformed 
and  the  minister  speaking  to  the 
wife  of  one  of  these  said,  *'Your 
home  life  must  be  much  more  pleas- 
ant now  since  your  husband  has 
quit  drinking.^'  *'0h,  yes,"  she  re- 
plied, "yes,  he  is  more  like  a  friend 
now  than  a  husband." 

France,  one  of  the  great  wine  pro- 
ducing countries  of  the  world,  has, 
through  her  government,  decided  to 
teach  in  the  schools  the  effect  of  al- 

27 


THE    SIGNS 

cohol  upon  the  system,  a  work  com- 
menced in  this  country  many  years 
ago  under  the  leadership  of  the 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union. 

But  the  most  important  item  of 
news  on  the  subject  of  temperance 
comes  from  Germany.  Something 
over  a  year  ago  Emperor  Wilhelm, 
speaking  to  the  naval  cadets  at  Mir- 
wig,  told  them  that  in  crises  that 
might  arise  the  country  must  de- 
pend upon  them,  but  that  it  could 
not  do  so  unless  their  brains  were 
clear  and  their  nerves  steady.  And 
then  he  warned  them  that  alcohol 
would  rob  their  brains  of  clearness 
and  their  nerves  of  steadiness  and, 
in  the  name  of  the  Fatherland,  ap- 
pealed to  them  to  join  total  absti- 

28 


OF   THE   TIMES 

nence  societies  and  held  up  for  their 
inspiration  the  total  abstinence  so- 
cieties of  the  British  Navy.  When 
I  read  this  appeal  from  the  Emperor 
of  Germany  to  the  young  men  of  his 
country  I  asked  myself :  may  we  not 
appeal  to  the  young  men  of  our 
country  to  abstain  from  the  use  of 
alcohol,  that  their  brains  may  be 
clear  and  their  nerves  steady  for  the 
battles  of  peace  and  progress  that 
lie  before  us? 

But  there  is  another  phase  of  this 
moral  awakening  to  which  I  must 
call  your  attention,  namely,  the 
change  in  the  point  of  view  from 
which  men  are  considering  public 
questions.  Sixteen  years  ago  those 
most  active  in  behalf  of  reforms 
were,  for  the  most  part,  men  who  felt 

29 


THE    SIGNS 

an  immediate  pecuniary  need  of  re- 
medial legislation.  This  deep  per- 
sonal interest  was  manifested  every- 
where and  it  is  not  strange ;  we  were 
then  at  the  end  of  an  era  of  falling 
prices.  For  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
century  the  dollar  had  been  rising 
in  its  purchasing  power  and  the  price 
level  falling;  for  nearly  twenty-five 
years  the  money  owner  and  the 
money  changer  had  been  drawing 
in  an  unearned  increment  and  the 
world  was  being  forced  into  bank- 
ruptcy. It  was  not  a  national  peril 
only  but  a  menace  to  the  world. 
Three  times  the  leading  nations  had 
joined  in  great  conferences,  every- 
body everywhere  admitting  the  seri- 
ousness of  the  situation,  the  only 
question   being   How   shall   we  es- 

30 


OF    THE    TIMES 

cape  ?  That  was  the  situation  then ; 
now  it  is  all  changed.  An  unpre- 
cedented increase  in  the  production 
of  precious  metal  has  made  such  an 
enormous  addition  to  the  world's 
volume  of  standard  money  that  con- 
ditions are  now  reversed.  The  pur- 
chasing power  of  the  dollar  instead 

of  rising  is  falling;  the  price  level 
instead  of  falling  is  rising;  the  world 

instead  of  going  in  bankruptcy  is 
coming  out.  If  you  are  paying  a 
debt  contracted  sixteen  years  ago 
you  are  paying  it  in  dollars  that  will 
not,  on  the  average,  purchase  more 
than  two-thirds  as  much  as  the  dol- 
lars that  you  borrowed.  With  this 
relief  from  the  grinding  process 
there  has  come  an  independence  that 
was  not  then  known — that  was 
scarcely  then  possible. 

31 


THE    SIGNS 

You  will  find  in  every  party,  in 
every  section  of  the  country  and  in 
every  civilized  nation  representatives 
of  this  growing  group — ^men  who 
are  not  looking  at  questions  from 
the  standpoint  of  personal  interest 
but  from  the  larger  standpoint  of 
the  public  weal — men  who  have 
learned  that  the  highest  satisfaction 
that  life  can  give  is  not  to  be  found 
in  the  counting  of  dollars,  nor  yet 
in  the  pleasures  of  society  but  only 
in  the  consciousness  of  a  real  service 
rendered  to  the  world. 

The  political  independence  which 
we  see  in  this  country  today  is 
largely  the  outgrowth  of  this  moral 
awakening.  Men  do  not  believe  less 
in  parties  than  they  used  to  but  they 
are  more  strongly  impelled  than  for- 

32 


OF   THE   TIMES 

merly  to  regard  the  party  as  a  means 
to  an  end  rather  than  an  end  in  it- 
self. They  are  coming  to  believe 
that  the  best  service  that  one  can 
render  to  his  party  is  not  to  allow 
the  party  to  sacrifice  the  permanent 
welfare  of  the  country  to  the  tem- 
porary interests  of  a  party  organi- 
zation. 

To  this  growing  group  of  disin- 
terested patriots  I  look  for  large  la- 
bor in  the  work  that  lies  before  us. 
Nor  is  it  entirely  a  matter  for  the 
future;  we  are  already  enjoying  the 
fruits  of  their  toil.  If  you  ask  me 
to  name  the  one  factor  which  more 
than  any  other  accounts  for  the 
world-wide  revolution  of  which  we 
are  now  a  part,  I  reply  that  it  is  this 
moral  awakening — ^this  stirring  of 

33 


THE    SIGNS 

the  conscience  of  the  world.  The 
conscience  is  the  most  potent  force 
of  which  we  have  knowledge.  Tell 
me  that  it  is  law  that  makes  men 
honest!  For  one  man  made  honest 
by  law  a  hundred  are  made  honest 
by  conscience.  Tell  me  that  it  is 
fear  of  prison  walls  that  keeps  men 
in  the  path  of  rectitude!  For  one 
man  kept  in  the  narrow  way  by  fear 
of  prison  walls  a  multitude  are  re- 
strained from  wrong  doing  by  those 
invisible  walls  that  conscience  rears 
about  us — walls  that  are  stronger 
than  the  walls  of  stone. 

I  now  come  to  the  third  proposi- 
tion, namely:  that  the  world's  ad- 
vance in  the  science  of  government 
is  as  great  as  its  advance  in  educa- 
tion and  in  morals ;  and  it  would  be 

34 


OF    THE    TIMES 

strange  if  with  a  larger  intelligence 
there  were  not  a  better  understand- 
ing of  the  theory  of  government,  and 
it  would  be  mortifying  to  us  if,  with 
a  better  understanding  of  govern- 
ment, there  were  not  a  larger  faith 
in  the  principles  of  popular  govern- 
ment. And  it  would  be  strange,  too, 
if,  with  a  growing  conception  of 
brotherhood,  there  were  not  a  clearer 
recognition  of  the  rights  of  man. 

A  century  ago  Jefferson  said  that 
there  were  just  two  parties  in  every 
country  and  that  wherever  speech 
was  free  these  two  parties  would 
manifest  themselves.  He  described 
them,  not  by  party  names,  but  by 
words  that  permanently  symbolize 
the  opposing  spirits  that  animate 
parties.      One   he   described   as   an 

35 


THE    SIGNS 

Aristocratic  Party  that  would  nat- 
urally draw  to  itself  those  who  do 
not  believe  in  the  people  and  who  do 
not  trust  them,  and  the  other  as  a 
Democratic  Party  that  would  nat- 
urally draw  to  itself  those  who  do 
believe  in  the  people  and  do  trust 
them.  Jefferson,  with  that  wisdom 
that  put  him  in  a  class  by  himself 
among  statesmen,  thus  drew  the 
only  line  that  can  be  drawn  always 
and  everywhere  through  Society,  the 
line  that  separated  the  man  who  is 
at  heart  a  democrat  from  the  man 
who  is  at  heart  an  aristocrat.  He 
understood  as  every  statesman  has 
whose  name  has  survived  his  genera- 
tion that  these  two  parties  are  in  con- 
stant conflict,  the  party  democratic 
in  spirit  trying  to  bring  the  govern- 

36 


OF   THE   TIMES 

ment  nearer  to  the  people,  the  party- 
aristocratic  in  spirit  endeavoring  to 
obstruct  every  step  toward  popular 
government.  With  a  century  of  his- 
tory to  support  the  proposition  I 
affirm  that  the  party  of  the  people 
is  the  growing  party  everywhere, 
and  that  the  party  of  the  aristocracy 
is  the  dying  party  the  world  around. 

If  time  permitted  illustrations 
could  be  drawn  from  every  land,  but 
I  shall  only  ask  your  attention  to 
five  and  those  relate  to  victories  won 
for  popular  government  within  the 
last  seven  years. 

First,  we  have  Russia,  whose  name 
has  been  a  synonym  for  despotism; 
after  infinite  suffering  and  sacrifice 
her  people  at  last  secured  a  Douma. 

The  first  and  second  Doumas  were 

37 


THE    SIGNS 

dissolved  and  suffrage  was  with- 
drawn from  more  than  nine  million 
voters  in  an  effort  to  secure  a  con- 
servative legislative  body.  But  even 
the  third  Douma  refused  to  write 
the  word  "autocrat"  after  the  name 
of  the  Czar  and  its  first  important 
measure  provided  that  there  should 
be  schools  enough  for  all  the  chil- 
dren in  Russia. 

Within  seven  years  Russia  has  se- 
cured a  constitution,  and  during  that 
period  Turkey  has  secured  both  a 
constitution  and  a  representative 
body. 

Within  seven  years  the  Dowager 
Empress  of  China  began  to  lay  the 
foundations  of  a  constitutional 
monarchy  but  the  government  did 
not  go  fast  enough  for  the  people 

38 


OF    THE    TIMES 

and  we  have  seen  four  hundred  mil- 
lions of  Chinese  driving  the  Manchu 
rulers  from  the  throne  and  organiz- 
ing a  republic,  a  republic  whose  chief 
executive,  taking  a  title  like  that  of 
our  own,  is  called  the  President  of 
the  United  States  of  China. 

But  it  is  not  among  the  backward 
nations  alone  that  Democracy  has 
won  its  victories.  The  people  have 
won  two  great  victories  in  Great 
Britain  within  three  years.  The 
first  was  in  the  matter  of  taxation. 
The  voters,  speaking  through  the 
House  of  Commons,  compelled  the 
House  of  Lords  to  consent  to  a  bud- 
get which  appropriated  a  part  of  the 
unearned  increment  of  the  landlords. 
And  then  the  House  of  Commons 
challenged  the  House  of  Lords  to 

39 


THE    SIGNS 

mortal  combat  on  one  of  the  most 
fundamental  governmental  proposi- 
tions, namely,  that  hereafter  the  peo- 
ple should  speak,  not  through  an 
hereditary  body,  but  only  through 
those  whom  they  elected  to  power. 
When  the  peers  resisted  the  measure 
the  King  listened  to  the  people's  plea 
and  forced  the  House  of  Lords  to 
consent  to  the  abridgment  of  its 
powers  demanded  by  the  voters,  and 
hereafter  that  body  cannot  for  a 
longer  period  than  two  years  ob- 
struct a  measure  that  has  passed  the 
House  of  Commons.  And  when  the 
House  of  Lords  of  Great  Britain,  the 
most  ancient  and  illustrious  of  all 
the  hereditary  bodies  on  the  earth, 
bowed  before  the  onsweeping  tide 
of  democracy  that  rolls  around  the 

40 


OF   THE   TIMES 

world — then  came  the  beginning  of 
the  end  of  hereditary  rule. 

This  is  what  the  world  has  been 
doing  outside  of  the  United  States, 
and  while  other  nations  have  been 
marching  at  doublequick  toward 
governmental  forms  more  responsive 
to  the  people's  will,  we  have  been 
keeping  step.  Nowhere  on  God's 
footstool  has  faith  in  the  people 
grown  more  or  been  more  emphati- 
cally expressed  than  in  our  own  be- 
loved land. 

The  first  illustration  of  this  is  in 
the  triumph  of  the  movement  that 
has  for  its  object  the  election  of 
United  States  senators  by  direct  vote 
of  the  people.  The  struggle  has 
lasted  for  two  decades  but  the  vic- 
tory is  won.    The  Senate  was  at  last 

41 


THE    SIGNS 

compelled  to  yield  to  the  people's 
demand  and  the  states  now  have  an 
opportunity  to  ratify  the  amendment 
which  makes  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate a  popular  body,  and  it  will  be  the 
people's  fault  if  it  does  not  become 
the  greatest  legislative  body  of  the 
world — a  body  to  which  those  may 
aspire  who  in  less  important  posi- 
tions have  demonstrated  a  capacity 
for  governmental  affairs  and  proven 
their  fidelity  to  the  people's  interests. 
While  the  people  have  been  win- 
ning this  victory  they  have  also  been 
improving  their  election  laws  so  as 
to  guarantee  to  each  voter  the  right 
to  make  his  ballot  represent  a  free- 
man's will,  and  they  have  at  the 
same  time  been  substituting  the  pri- 
mary for  the  boss-ridden  convention. 

42 


OF   THE    TIMES 

Our  primary  laws  are  experimental 
and  are  not  free  from  defects,  but 
we  shall  learn  their  faults  by  experi- 
ence and  remedy  them  in  wisdom. 
We  shall  not  go  back  to  the  old  sys- 
tem; on  the  contrary  we  shall  move 
forward,  and  before  another  presi- 
dential campaign  rolls  around  so 
many  of  our  states  will  have  pro- 
vided for  the  presidential  primary 
that  our  presidents  hereafter  will  be 
nominated,  not  by  a  few  leaders  in  a 
convention,  but  by  the  people  at 
home,  and,  being  thus  indebted  to 
the  whole  people  for  their  elevation 
to  the  presidency,  they  will  be  the 
servants  of  the  whole  people  while 
in  office. 

The   purification    of   politics   has 
kept  pace  with  the  reforms  already 

43 


THE    SIGNS 

mentioned.  A  few  years  ago  a  great 
Senator  declared  that  purity  in  poli- 
tics was  an  iridescent  dream.  That 
was  back  in  the  days  when  Wall 
street  nominated  both  candidates,  fi- 
nanced both  campaigns,  took  a  mort- 
gage on  both  administrations  and 
then  said:  "They  are  both  good 
men ;  no  matter  which  wins,  the  peo- 
ple lose."  But  when  the  voters 
learned  where  the  money  came  from 
and  why  it  was  given  they  demanded 
a  remedy  and  a  law  was  passed 
making  it  a  criminal  offense  for  any 
corporation  to  contribute  to  a  na- 
tional campaign  fund.  This  was  a 
great  step  in  advance  but  it  was  not 
enough.  Then  came  the  demand  for 
publicity  as  to  individual  contribu- 
tions and  we  secured,  first,  a  law  re- 

44 


OF   THE   TIMES 

quiring  publicity  after  the  election 
and,  later,  a  law  requiring  publicity 
before  the  election.  But  even  this 
was  not  all  that  was  needed  and  the 
House  of  Representatives  has  gone 
three  steps  further  in  the  matter  of 
publicity.  The  first  asks  the  Presi- 
dent to  make  public  the  recommen- 
dations, written  and  verbal,  upon 
which  he  appoints  United  States 
judges;  the  second  extends  the  pub- 
licity law  to  the  period  before  the 
conventions  in  order  that  the  public 
may  know  what  contributions  are 
made  to  secure  nominations ;  and  the 
third,  still  more  important,  requires 
newspapers  to  tell  their  readers  who 
own  the  papers.  It  is  strange  that 
we  have  been  so  slow  in  extending 
publicity  to  the  newspaper,  the  agent 

45 


THE    SIGNS 

of  publicity,  but  the  people  are 
aroused  at  last  and  it  will  not  be 
long  before  the  pure  food  law  will 
be  applied  to  our  newspaper  diet. 
Predatory  interests  will  then  be 
compelled  to  put  the  label  "Poison" 
on  their  editorials  when  they  pur- 
chase newspapers  for  the  purpose  of 
influencing  public  opinion. 

We  have  made  progress,  too,  in 
the  matter  of  taxation  and  thirty- 
four  states  have  already  ratified  the 
amendment  to  the  Constitution  spe- 
cifically authorizing  the  Income  Tax. 
Many  other  illustrations  might  be 
presented  but  those  which  I  have 
brought  before  you  are  sufficient  to 
show,  first,  the  trend  of  the  world^ 
and,  second,  our  nation's  leader- 
ship. 

46 


OF    THE    TIMES 

It  only  remains  to  impress  upon 
your  minds  the  responsibilities  that 
attend  that  leadership.  Our  nation 
is  as  ''a  city  set  upon  a  hill,"  as  "a 
light  that  cannot  be  hid."  That 
which  is  done  here  is  soon  known 
everywhere  and  has  its  influence  for 
weal  or  woe.  Every  reformer  in 
Asia  knows  our  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence by  heart,  understands 
our  Constitution  and  follows  our 
laws.  In  South  America  they  watch 
our  movements  even  more  closely. 

I  shall  not  forget  an  experience 
that  I  had  at  San  Paolo,  Brazil. 
They  have  there  a  great  normal 
school,  built  and  conducted  upon  the 
plans  taken  by  an  American  woman 
from  New  York.  They  are  proud 
to  acknowledge  their  indebtedness  to 

47 


THE    SIGNS 

us;  they  showed  me  through  the 
various  rooms  and  then  took  me  to 
the  assembly  hall  where  the  students 
of  the  higher  classes  were  gathered. 
Every  seat  was  occupied,  the  aisles 
were  full  and  young  men  stood  back 
through  the  door  into  the  outer  hall. 
Over  each  window  were  two  flags, 
the  Brazilian  flag  and  ours.  A 
teacher  speaking  for  the  school  de- 
livered in  English  an  address  of  wel- 
come. He  told  how  their  Constitu- 
tion was  modeled  after  ours  and 
how  even  their  flag  like  ours  had  a 
star  for  every  state.  When  he  was 
through  a  young  man,  of  twenty  or 
twenty-one,  spoke  for  the  students. 
He  also  spoke  in  English  and  his 
voice  trembled  with  emotion  as  he 
said  that  our  Nation  had  been  an  in- 

48 


OF   THE   TIMES 

spiration  to  Brazil,  and  that  it  was 
their  ambition  to  make  Brazil  like 
the  United  States.  Then  a  young 
lady  recited  a  poem  in  English,  and 
then  to  my  surprise  the  entire  school 
rose  and  sang  in  English : 

My  Country,  'tis  of  Thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty; 
Of  Thee  I  sing. 

It  was  my  time  to  speak.  I  told 
them  that  I  had  seen  fulfilled  there 
that  day  the  dreams  of  our  fore- 
fathers; that  it  was  the  desire  of 
those  who  laid  the  foundation  of 
our  government  that  our  nation 
should  conquer  the  world,  not  with 
its  arm,  but  with  its  ideas.  I  told 
them  that  our  people  would  be  hap- 
pier to   know   that   they   sang  our 

49 


THE   SIGNS 

songs  and  were  grateful  for  our  ex- 
ample— happier  far  than  to  have 
them  as  sullen  subjects  under  a  flag 
that  they  did  not  love. 

What  a  glorious  destiny  God  has 
reserved  to  our  nation!  What  a 
privilege  to  be  a  citizen  in  a  land 
that  is  the  torch  bearer  among  the 
nations,  the  pathfinder  for  the 
world!  And  with  this  privilege 
what  a  responsibility! 

The  question  that  I  would  burn 
into  your  minds  and  hearts  and  carry 
with  me  ever  is  this:  the  world  is 
moving  forward,  our  nation  leading 
the  way ;  it  is  moving  forward  in  in- 
telligence; have  we  done  all  in  our 
power  to  advance  the  world's  intel- 
ligence? It  is  moving  forward  in 
morals;   have   we  done  all   in  our 

50 


OF   THE    TIMES 

power  to  lift  the  moral  standards  of 
our  communities,  our  states,  our  na- 
tion and  the  world?     It  is  moving 
forward   in  the  application  of  the 
principles  of  popular  government  to 
government;   have  we  done  all   in 
our  power  to  make  our  government 
each  day  more  nearly  a  government 
of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for 
the  people?     And,  if  we  have  not 
lived  up  to  our  great  opportunities 
and  responsibilities,  will  we  listen  to 
the  pleading  voice  that  comes  to  us 
from  the  battlefield  of  Gettysburg? 
In  that  wonderful  oration  on  that 
memorable  occasion  Lincoln  referred 
to  an  unfinished  task  to  which  those 
there    assembled    should    consecrate 
themselves.     That  task  is  still  un- 
finished and  we  shall  not  do  our  full 

51 


THE    SIGNS  OF   THE    TIMES 

duty  unless  we  highly  resolve  that 
whatever  influence  we  have  shall  be 
so  used  in  the  solving  of  every  prob- 
lem as  to  maintain  our  nation's  pri- 
macy among  the  nations  and  enable 
it  to  lead  each  generation  to  higher 
ground. 


52 


FAITH 


FAITH 

T^AITH  exerts  a  controlling  in- 
fluence over  our  lives.  If  it 
is  argued  that  works  are  more  im- 
portant than  faith,  I  reply  that  faith 
comes  first,  works  afterwards.  Un- 
til one  believes,  he  does  not  act,  and 
in  accordance  with  his  faith,  so  will 
be  his  deeds. 

Abraham,  called  of  God,  went 
forth  in  faith  to  establish  a  race  and 
a  religion.  As  a  result  of  his  faith 
a  race  has  been  produced  not  sur- 
passed in  its  achievements  by  any 
other  race  in  history,  and  as  a  re- 
sult of  his  faith  nearly  four  hundred 
millions  of  human  beings  are  adher- 

■    55 


FAITH 

ents  of  a  monotheistic  religion.  It 
was  faith  that  led  Columbus  to  dis- 
cover America,  and  faith  again  that 
conducted  the  early  settlers  to  James- 
town, the  Dutch  to  New  York  and 
the  Pilgrims  to  Plymouth  Rock. 
Faith  has  led  the  pioneer  across  des- 
erts and  through  trackless  forests, 
and  faith  has  brought  others  in  his 
footsteps  to  lay  in  our  land  the  foun- 
dations of  a  civilization  the  highest 
that  the  world  has  known. 

I  might  draw  an  illustration  from 
the  life  of  each  one  of  you.  You 
have  faith  in  education,  and  that 
faith  is  behind  your  study ;  you  have 
faith  in  this  institution,  and  that 
faith  brought  you  here;  your  par- 
ents and  friends  have  had  faith  in 
you  and  have  helped  you  to  your 

S6 


FAITH 

present  position.  Without  faith  we 
are  told  it  is  impossible  to  please 
God,  and  I  may  add  that  without 
faith  it  is  impossible  to  meet  the  ex- 
pectations of  those  who  are  most 
interested  in  you.  Let  me  present 
this  subject  under  four  heads : 

First — You  must  have  faith  in 
yourselves.  Not  that  you  should 
carry  confidence  in  yourselves  to  the 
point  of  displaying  egotism,  and  yet, 
egotism  is  not  the  worst  possible 
fault.  My  father  was  wont  to  say 
that  if  a  man  had  the  big  head,  you 
could  whittle  it  down,  but  that  if 
he  had  the  little  head,  there  was  no 
hope  for  him.  If  you  have  the  big 
head  others  will  help  you  reduce  it, 
but  if  you  have  the  little  head,  they 
cannot  help  you.     You  must  believe 

57 


FAITH 

that  you  can  do  things  or  you  will 
not  undertake  them.  Those  who 
lack  faith  attempt  nothing  and 
therefore  cannot  possibly  succeed; 
those  with  great  faith  attempt  the 
seemingly  impossible  and  by  at- 
tempting prove  what  man  can  do. 

But  you  cannot  have  faith  in  your- 
selves unless  you  are  conscious  that 
you  are  prepared  for  your  work.  If 
one  is  feeble  in  body,  he  cannot 
have  the  confidence  in  his  physical 
strength  that  the  athlete  has,  and  as 
physical  strength  is  necessary,  one  is 
justified  in  devoting  to  exercise  and 
to  the  strengthening  of  the  body 
such  time  as  may  be  necessary. 

Intellectual  training  is  also  neces- 
sary, and  more  necessary  than  it 
used  to  be.    When  but  few  had  the 

58 


FAITH 

advantages  of  a  college  education, 
the  lack  of  such  advantages  v^as  not 
so  apparent.  Now  when  so  many  of 
the  lawyers,  physicians,  journalists, 
and  even  business  men,  are  college 
graduates,  one  cannot  afford  to  en- 
ter any  field  without  the  best  pos- 
sible intellectual  preparation.  When 
one  comes  into  competition  with  his 
fellows,  he  soon  recognizes  his  own 
intellectual  superiority  or  inferiority 
as  compared  with  others.  In  China 
they  have  a  very  interesting  bird 
contest.  The  singing  lark  is  the 
most  popular  bird  there,  and  as  you 
go  along  the  streets  of  a  Chinese 
city  you  see  Chinamen  out  airing 
their  birds.  These  singing  larks  are 
entered  in  contests,  and  the  contests 
are  decided  by  the  birds  themselves. 

59 


FAITH 

If,  for  instance,  a  dozen  are  entered, 
they  all  begin  to  sing  lustily,  but  as 
they  sing,  one  after  another  recog- 
nizes that  it  is  outclassed  and  gets 
down  off  of  its  perch,  puts  its  head 
under  its  wing  and  will  not  sing  any 
more.  At  last  there  is  just  one  bird 
left  singing,  and  it  sings  with  an  en- 
thusiasm that  shows  that  it  recog- 
nizes its  victory.  So  it  is  in  all  in- 
tellectual contests.  Put  twenty  men 
in  a  room  and  let  them  discuss  any 
important  question.  At  first  all  will 
take  part  in  the  discussion,  but  as  the 
discussion  proceeds,  one  after  another 
drops  out  until  finally  two  are  left 
in  debate,  one  on  one  side  and  one 
on  the  other.  The  rest  are  content 
to  have  their  ideas  presented  by 
those  who  can  present  them  best.    If 

60 


FAITH 

you  are  going  to  have  faith,  there- 
fore, in  yourselves,  you  must  be  pre- 
pared to  meet  your  competitors  upon 
an  equal  plane,  and  if  you  are  pre- 
pared, they  will  be  conscious  of  it 
as  well  as  you. 

A  high  purpose  is  also  a  necessary 
part  of  your  preparation.  You  can 
not  afford  to  put  a  low  purpose  in 
competition  with  a  high  one.  If  you 
go  out  to  work  from  a  purely  selfish 
standpoint,  you  will  be  ashamed  to 
stand  in  the  presence  of  those  who 
have  higher  aims  and  nobler  ambi- 
tions. Have  faith  in  yourselves,  but 
to  have  faith  you  must  be  prepared 
for  your  work,  and  this  preparation 
must  be  moral  and  intellectual  as 
well  as  physical. 

Second — Have  faith  in  mankind. 

6i 


FAITH 

The  great  fault  of  our  scholarship  is 
that  it  is  not  sufficiently  sympathetic. 
It  holds  itself  aloof  from  the  strug- 
gling masses.  It  is  too  often  cold 
and  cynical.  It  is  better  to  trust 
your  fellowmen  and  be  occasionally 
deceived  than  to  be  distrustful  and 
live  alone.  Mankind  deserves  to  be 
trusted.  There  is  something  good 
in  every  one,  and  that  good  re- 
sponds to  sympathy.  If  you  speak 
to  the  multitude  and  they  do  not 
respond,  do  not  despise  them,  but 
rather  examine  what  you  have  said. 
If  you  speak  from  your  heart,  you 
will  speak  to  their  hearts,  and  they 
can  tell  very  quickly  whether  you 
are  interested  in  them  or  simply  in 
yourself.  The  heart  of  mankind  is 
sound;  the  sense  of  justice  is  uni- 

62 


FAITH 

versal.  Trust  it,  appeal  to  it,  do  not 
violate  it.  People  differ  in  race 
characteristics,  in  national  traditions, 
in  language,  in  ideas  of  government, 
and  in  forms  of  religion,  but  at 
heart  they  are  very  much  alike.  I 
fear  the  plutocracy  of  wealth;  I  re- 
spect the  plutocracy  of  learning;  I 
thank  God  for  the  democracy  of  the 
heart.  You  must  love  if  you  would 
be  loved.  "They  loved  Him  because 
He  first  loved  them" — this  is  the 
verdict  pronounced  where  men  have 
unselfishly  labored  for  the  welfare 
of  the  whole  people.  Link  your- 
selves in  sympathy  with  your  fellow- 
men  ;  mingle  with  them ;  know  them 
and  you  will  trust  them  and  they 
will  trust  you.  If  you  are  stronger 
than  others,  bear  heavier  loads;  if 

63 


FAITH 

you  are  more  capable  than  others, 
show  it  by  your  wilHngness  to  per- 
form a  larger  service. 

Third — If  you  are  going  to  ac- 
complish anything  in  this  country, 
you  must  have  faith  in  our  form  of 
government,  and  there  is  every  rea- 
son why  you  should  have  faith  in  it. 
It  is  the  best  form  of  government 
ever  conceived  by  the  mind  of  man, 
and  it  is  spreading  throughout  the 
world.  It  is  best,  not  because  it  is 
perfect,  but  because  it  can  be  made 
as  perfect  as  the  people  deserve  to 
have.  It  is  a  people's  government, 
and  it  reflects  the  virtue  and  intelli- 
gence of  the  people.  As  the  people 
make  progress  in  virtue  and  in  intel- 
ligence, the  government  ought  to 
approach  more  and  more  nearly  to 

64 


FAITH 

perfection.  It  will  never,  of  course, 
be  entirely  free  from  faults,  because 
it  must  be  administered  by  human 
beings,  and  imperfection  is  to  be 
expected  in  the  work  of  human 
hands. 

Jefferson  said  a  century  ago  that 
there  were  naturally  two  parties  in 
every  country,  one  which  drew  to 
itself  those  who  trusted  the  people, 
the  other  which  as  naturally  drew 
to  itself  those  who  distrusted  the 
people.  That  was  true  when  Jeffer- 
son said  it,  and  it  is  true  today.  In 
every  country  there  is  a  party  which 
is  seeking  to  enlarge  the  participa- 
tion of  the  people  in  government, 
and  that  party  is  the  growing  party. 
In  every  country  there  is  a  party 
which    is    endeavoring   to    obstruct 

65 


FAITH 

each  step  toward  popular  govern- 
ment, and  it  is  the  dying  party.  In 
this  country  the  tendency  is  con- 
stantly toward  more  popular  gov- 
ernment, and  every  effort  which  has 
for  its  object  the  bringing  of  the 
government  into  closer  touch  with 
the  people  is  sure  of  ultimate  tri- 
umph. 

Our  form  of  government  is  good. 
Call  it  a  democracy  if  you  are  a 
Democrat,  or  a  republic  if  you  are  a 
Republican,  but  help  to  make  it  a 
government  of  the  people,  by  the 
people  and  for  the  people.  A  de- 
mocracy is  wiser  than  an  aristoc- 
racy because  a  democracy  can  draw 
from  the  wisdom  of  the  people,  and 
all  of  the  people  know  more  than 
any  part  of  the  people.     A  democ- 

66 


FAITH 

racy  is  stronger  than  a  monarchy 
because,  as  the  historian,  Bancroft, 
has  said:  "It  dares  to  discard  the 
implements  of  terror  and  build  its 
citadel  in  the  hearts  of  men."  And 
a  democracy  is  the  most  just  form 
of  government  because  it  is  built 
upon  the  doctrine  that  men  are  crea- 
ted equal,  that  governments  are  in- 
stituted to  protect  the  inalienable 
rights  of  the  people  and  that  gov- 
ernments derive  their  just  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed. 

We  know  that  a  grain  of  wheat 
planted  in  the  ground  will,  under  the 
influence  of  the  sunshine  and  rain, 
send  forth  a  blade,  and  then  a  stalk, 
and  then  the  full  head,  because  there 
is  behind  the  grain  of  wheat  a  force 
irresistible  and  constantly  at  work. 

.67 


FAITH 

There  is  behind  moral  and  political 
truth  a  force  equally  irresistible  and 
always  operating,  and  just  as  we 
may  expect  the  harvest  in  due  sea- 
son, we  may  be  sure  of  the  triumph 
of  these  eternal  forces  that  make  for 
man's  uplifting.  Have  faith  in  your 
form  of  government,  for  it  rests 
upon  a  growing  idea,  and  if  you 
will  but  attach  vourself  to  that  idea, 
you  will  grow  with  it. 

But  the  subject  presents  itself  in 
another  aspect.  You  must  not  only 
have  faith  in  yourselves,  in  human- 
ity and  in  the  form  of  government 
under  which  we  live,  but  if  you 
would  do  a  great  work,  you  must 
have  faith  in  God.  Do  not  call  me 
a  preacher,  for  I  am  but  a  layman; 
yet,  I  am  not  willing  that  the  minis- 

68 


FAITH 

ter  shall  monopolize  the  blessings  of 
Christianity,  and  I  do  not  know  of 
any  moral  precept  binding  upon  the 
preacher  behind  the  pulpit  that  is 
not  binding  upon  the  Christian 
whose  acceptance  would  not  be  help- 
ful to  every  one.  I  am  not  speaking 
from  the  minister's  standpoint  but 
from  the  observation  of  every-day 
life  when  I  say  that  there  is  a  wide 
difference  between  the  desire  to  live 
so  that  men  will  applaud  you  and 
the  desire  to  live  so  that  God  will  be 
satisfied  with  you.  Man  needs  the 
inner  strength  that  comes  from  faith 
in  God  and  belief  in  His  constant 
presence. 

Man  needs  faith  in  God,  there- 
fore, to  strengthen  him  in  his  hours 
of  trial,  and  he  needs  it  to  give  him 

69 


FAITH 

courage  to  do  the  work  of  life.  How 
can  one  fight  for  a  principle  unless 
he  believes  in  the  triumph  of  the 
right?  How  can  he  believe  in  the 
triumph  of  the  right  if  he  does  not 
believe  that  God  stands  back  of  the 
truth  and  that  God  is  able  to  bring 
victory  to  truth  ?  The  man  of  faith, 
believing  that  every  word  spoken 
for  truth  will  have  its  influence  and 
that  no  blow  struck  for  righteous- 
ness is  struck  in  vain,  fights  on  with- 
out asking  whether  he  is  to  fall  in 
the  beginning  of  the  battle  or  live 
to  join  in  the  shouts  of  triumph. 
He  knows  not  whether  he  is  to  live 
for  the  truth  or  to  die  for  it,  and  if 
he  has  the  faith  he  ought  to  have,  he 
is  as  ready  to  die  for  it  as  to  live 
for  it. 

70 


FAITH 

Faith  will  not  only  give  you 
strength  when  you  fight  for  right- 
eousness, but  your  faith  will  bring 
dismay  to  your  enemies.  There  is 
power  in  the  presence  of  an  honest 
man  who  does  right  because  it  is 
right  and  dares  to  do  the  right  in 
the  face  of  all  opposition.  It  is  true 
today,  and  has  been  true  through 
all  history  that  "One  with  God  shall 
chase  a  thousand,  and  two  put  ten 
thousand   to   flight." 

If  your  preparation  is  complete  so 
that  you  are  conscious  of  your  abil- 
ity to  do  great  things;  if  you  have 
faith  in  your  fellowmen  and  become 
a  colaborer  with  them  in  the  raising 
of  the  general  level  of  society;  if 
you  have  faith  in  our  form  of  gov- 
ernment and  seek  to  purge  it  of  its 

71 


FAITH 

imperfections  so  as  to  make  it  more 
and  more  acceptable  to  our  own  peo- 
ple and  to  the  oppressed  of  other 
nations;  and  if,  in  addition,  you 
have  faith  in  God  and  in  the  tri- 
umph of  right,  no  one  can  set  limits 
to  your  achievements.  This  is  the 
greatest  of  all  the  ages  in  which  to 
live.  The  railroads  and  the  tele- 
graph wires  have  brought  the  cor- 
ners of  the  earth  close  together,  and 
it  is  easier  today  for  one  to  be  help- 
ful to  the  whole  world  than  it  was 
a  few  centuries  ago  to  be  helpful  to 
the  inhabitants  of  a  single  valley. 
This  is  the  age  of  great  opportunity 
and  of  great  responsibility.  Let 
your  faith  be  large,  and  let  this  large 
faith  inspire  you  to  perform  a  large 
service. 

72 


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TO  WHICH  IS  ADDED  "FAITH,"  AN  ADDRESS 
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Childhood 

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before  the  Civic  Forum  and  the 
Child's  Welfare  League,  was  upon 
this  topic. 

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extended  by  him  during  the  activi- 
ties of  his  summer  campaign  of  1912. 

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By  NEWEU  DWIGHT  HILLIS,  D.D.,  U.D. 


The  Misfortune  of  a 
World  Without  Pain 

The  Eminent  Pastor  of  Plymouth 
Church  in  Brooklyn  here  deals  with 
a  subject  humanly  close  to  his  own 
outlook  on  life  in  its  more  serious 
aspects.  The  title  will  suggest  the 
point  he  makes. 

That  his  presentation  is  with  clear- 
ness and  originality  need  scarcely  be 
said  to  any  one  familiar  either  with  his 
pulpit  oratory  or  his  published  essays. 

Dr.  Hillis'  uplifting  teachings  have 
not  in  recent  years  comprehended  a 
more  notable  effort  than  the  one  here 
preserved  for  the  many  readers  who 
will  desire  to  possess  it. 


J6mo,  Flexible  Leather,  Cilt-Top. 
75  cents.  Net;    by  mail,  80    cent* 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY,  PabUshers 
NEW  YORK  and  LONDON 


The  Leather-Bound  Pocket  Series 


By  CHARLES  REYNOLDS  BROWN,  D.D. 


The  Latent  Energies 
of  Life: 

OfyThe  Unreafized  PossibUities  of  Life 

William  James,  in  a  notable  essay, 
has  said  that  no  person  qnite  realizes 
all  that  is  possible  from  his  faculties, 
while  the  vast  majority  realize  com- 
paratively little. 

Professor  Brown,  Dean  of  the  Di- 
vinity School  of  Yale,  approaching 
the  subject  in  a  friendly  and  personal 
way,  has  here  given  to  this  idea  new 
point  and  charm.  His  essay  will 
command  attention. 

It  is  to  be  commended  especially  to 
young  men  with  whose  needs  the  au- 
thor has  long  been  concerned.  Many 
of  these  will  remember  him  as  the 
author  of  a  helpful  book  entitled 
"The  Young  Man's  Affairs." 


J6mo,  Flexible  Leather,  Gilt-  Top. 
75  cents,   net;  by  mail,   80  cents 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY,  PnbUsIiert 
NEW  YORK  aad  LONDON 


The  Leather-Bound  Pocket  Series 


By  WILLIAM  ELLIOT  GRIFFIS,  D.D.,  L.H.D. 


The  Call  of  Jesus  to  Joy 

In  this  new  volume  by  Dr.  Grifpis,  the 
Gospel  of  Gladness  is  proclaimed  with  in- 
sistent hopefulness  and  undoubting  faith. 

That  men  shall  heed  the  Call  of  Jesus 
to  Joy  is  urged,  primarily, 

Because  Joy  is  a  Duty ; 

Because  of  Birth  into  this  good  world 
of  God's  love ; 

Because  in  the  School  of  Life  we  learn 
the  true  lesson  of  joy  from  its  One  Master; 

Because  the  House  We  Live  In  should 
be  full  of  Christian  cheer ; 

Because  the  highest  Joy  of  the  Thinker 
is  when  he  thinks  of  God  and  Christ ;  and 

Because  the  supreme  Joy  of  the  Student 
is  in  study  with  Jesus  as  both  student 
and  teacher. 


16mo,    Flexible  Leather,    Gilt-Top. 
75  cents,    net;   by    mail,    80  cents 

FUNK  &  V/AGNALLS  COMPANY,  Publishers 
NEW  YORK  and  LONDON 


